Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic described a Chinese company operating on a high-speed rail line linking Belgrade to Budapest, Hungary, as a new high-speed exercise unveiled in the Serbian capital on Friday.
The railway network is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Europe, a major task announced by the Chinese government in 2013 that aims to expand infrastructure in large portions of Asia, East Africa and Eastern Europe, increasing Beijing’s influence.
China has worked hard to strengthen ties with Serbia and Hungary and those two countries, as well as France, hosted President Xi Jinping’s stopover in Europe in May. Both Serbia and Hungary have warm relations with Russia, China’s main ally. , although the latter is also a member of NATO and the European Union.
According to China’s official Xinhua news agency, the exercise inaugurated on Friday at Zemun station travels up to 200 kilometers (124 miles) per hour and has 250 seats.
Vucic announced on the occasion that Serbia had ordered five trains from the China Railways Rolling Stock Corporation for use on the Belgrade-Budapest railway line, which is currently under construction.
He commented: “The last one will arrive, according to the contract, on December 31, 2025. We will be conducting tests for the Belgrade-Subotica direction from September and no later than December 1. If we finish the line by then, and , you will take this Belgrade-Subotica train. “
Referring to the engineering company operating on the railway line, Vucic added: “I would like to especially thank China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), which is probably the most productive company that has ever done anything in Serbia. This company is a miracle, and it’s amazing how those other people work. “
Chinese developers have already completed a railway line between Belgrade and Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, and there are plans to extend it to Subotica, near the Hungarian border, by December. When completed, the Belgrade-Budapest railway, the project, whose structure is underway through several Chinese companies, is expected to be 350 kilometers long.
Vucic also expressed hope on Friday that Serbia will build its own trains, commenting: “We import the highest production quality and the most beautiful trains. I hope we build them soon. This would be very vital for Serbia’s growth. “
According to Statista, in 2021, China’s high-speed rail network stretched for 40,000 kilometers, and in 2019, 2. 3 billion people were built on its lines, which is equivalent to about 63% of the entire passenger rail in China.
Recent years have seen a renaissance of high-speed rail projects, with the structure starting in January of a 218-mile line intended to link Las Vegas, Nevada, with Southern California. In April, President Joe Biden approved a plan for a 240-mile line. Hourly line linking Houston and Dallas with Texas. There are also proposals for a line from Dallas to Fort Worth.
James Bickerton is a reporter for Newsweek U. S. News based in London, United Kingdom. Its goal is to cover American politics and global politics. He has covered the intersection between politics and emerging technologies, such as synthetic intelligence. James joined Newsweek in July 2022 from LBC and has worked for the Daily Express in the past. He graduated from the University of Oxford. Languages: English. Twitter: @JBickertonUK.
You can contact James by emailing j. bickerton@newsweek. com
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